It is Official!!!

Dad will be discharged on Wednesday, July 27 around 10:30 am!!!!!.  We hope to be moving out of here quickly and home that afternoon.  Wooo  Hooo!!!

Let me outta here!!

Moooove On Over...I'm Coming Home!!!!!

Still "Hoofing" It

Dad had a pretty good day racking up laps around the Cardiac Unit.  We can tell he is really on the mend as he stopped to chat as he walked and checked out the cabinets and how they were made.  Of course Dad was quick to describe the cabinets as "cheap" and wondered "Who in the world would design something like that and put it in a hospital?"  (My dad is a retired architectural engineer who designed school equipment, labs, media center, cabinets, etc...)  He is looking good too...sat at the sink and shaved today, was given the thumbs up to take a shower and kicked those bright, yellow, non-slip hospital socks to the curb and is sporting his comfy, suede man slippers. 

Moving Day...Maybe???

Dr. Gaca, Dad's surgeon, stopped by today and said my dad MAY go home tomorrow.  Woo hoo!!!..That is quite amazing since tomorrow will be one week since he had his surgery.  He still has a  PICC line (peripherally inserted central catheter) which has to be removed in a sterile environment by a "PICC team".  We were advised to remind the staff early in the morning if he is discharged , so Dad will not have to wait around for that to be removed.  Sometimes that can slow down the process.  He has walked twice already today but was interrupted by his x-ray taxi.  Another look at his chest to make sure things are still looking ok in there.   My dad said he has had so many x-rays that he will glow at night and they will not need any nightlights in their house!! 

 

It Just Gets Better and Better!!

God is so good!!   Cooler weather....a little less stress....Today Dad had his last chest tube removed and is still working on being weaned off of the oxygen.  He walked three laps on his first trip this morning before we arrived and walked a quarter of a mile this afternoon.  We asked him he if he was ready to go and walk and he said "Let's get crackin'".  Someone had spilled something brown on the floor and he said it like a "leaky dog had been in here".  His lunch was a "gas station hamburger that was left in the microwave too long".  I managed to smuggle in some Lemon Loaf Pound Cake from Starbucks and needless to say no crumb trail was left behind.  Lots of laughter and jokes..good to see Dad almost back to his old self!!!!

Thanks For the Cards!!

Thanks so much for the E-cards!!  They were delivered bright and early this morning and provided both laughter and warm smiles.  I cannot express how much that contact from the outside world from friends and family has helped with his attitude and recovery!!  

Code Red!!! Where is Tommy When We Need Him?

Yes, folks there was a fire in the hospital this morning.  The nurse was in Dad's room and the "Code Red" call went out.  I asked the nurse what was going on..  She said matter of factually...."Oh that....Code Red means there is a fire so I have to close this door.  It is not in our part of the hospital though".  Oh....okay......my dad had been taken to the ECHO lab to have a sonogram on his heart.  When he got back he reported that there was a fire and he had to wait to come back.  No big deal...(Are they kidding?????)

Technology...Grrrrrr

Thanks to you guys who let me know the comments section had disappeared!!  I am not sure what happened but I think I have fixed it.  Please let me know by email if it poops out again!!! 

Removal of More "Stuff"

The dressing from Dad's chest incision was removed today as well as the wound pump that was connected to the incision area.  The chest tube is still there and continues to drain fluid from his chest.  Dad has 57 staples holding his incision together.  He is on very little oxygen and is being weaned off of that as well.  One day closer to freedom!!

From Track Star to Race Car Driver

Today has been wonderful!! We got to the hospital and found Catharine and Tommy there and my dad full of smiles and laughter.  Catharine made my dad  a "Build a Bear" named Bessy (good 'ole cow name no less) dressed in scrubs with a working, beating heart.  Tommy whispered something to him about watch where they pinch you and made my dad laugh so hard he had to hug that heart pillow.  Some sort of male bonding occurring there I suppose!!   It is so good to see him working slowly but steadily toward recovering.  He has walked twice so far;  once for two laps and the last trip was three laps!!  Woo hoo...Richard Petty's got nothing on my dad!  The OT (Occupational Therapist) stopped by and chatted with my dad about what he may need when he goes home.  She walked with him first and attached his "Batman Cape" (extra gown..no flashing allowed) and told Tommy to stand by his room with the lap flag.  The next "walker" Dianna, (or "Lady Di" as my dad had dubbed her) was able to get Dad to make three laps.  He did warn her that she better hang on because "natural combustion may take over and propel him forward".  She laughed and said let it fly because she was ready for some fast action.  That's the kind of day it has been!!